Academics at the University of Birmingham in the UK have discovered two pages from the Quran that could be among the oldest in the world. The manuscript appears to date back to the mid-7th century and the time of the Prophet Muhammad himself.

Handguns and assault rifles are completely banned in Britain, and a very small percentage of the country's police officers even carry guns, something that has led to a lower number of fatal police shootings.

More people would turn in their taxes if the government went ahead and filled out the forms for them, research shows. Richard Thaler, a behavioral economist, explains the counterintuitive things he’s learned by studying our deeply irrational behavior.

Grand juries decided not indict the police officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The decision enraged many Americans, who questioned why the incidents didn't deserve an open trial — exactly the reason why the UK, the originator of grand juries, abolished its own system long ago.

The film The Imitation Game has cast new light on the figure of Alan Turing and the work done at Bletchley Park during World War II. Many of the greatest minds who worked at the secret location were woman who, after the war, returned to their lives without ever telling anyone about the work that they did.

Every parent knows their kids are more than just their grades. Still, they also tell kids grades matter. No wonder an English elementary school headmaster set off a social media storm when she helped write a letter to students telling them not worry so much about their scores, since "there are many ways of being smart."

A photo of three pioneering women doctors has been circulating in social media -- but they're not wearing white lab coats. They're wearing culturally significant dress and they represent the first women doctors from their countries, back in the 1800s.

After an ongoing lawsuit, Penguin Books India will recall its book "The Hindus: An Alternative History." News of the recall has made waves in academic circles in India, and spurred sales in the UK and US.

Updated

09/26/2014 - 10:00am

Kate Bush fans from around the globe have picked a pub near the Hammersmith Apollo as a central meeting place. It's become a place to gather and share the excitement before catching one of the singer's sold-out shows, her first in 35 years.

Updated

08/19/2014 - 9:00am

As the debate over gun control — and, now, the use of force by police — rages in the US and elsewhere, Britain offers a stark contrast. Police there rarely carry guns, fire them or kill anyone. Meanwhile, Beijing is getting machines that inspire people to both recycle and ride public transit. And Ebola is killing Liberians who don't even have the disease, in today's Global Scan.

Grand juries decided not indict the police officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The decision enraged many Americans, who questioned why the incidents didn't deserve an open trial — exactly the reason why the UK, the originator of grand juries, abolished its own system long ago.

From December 1940 to July 1941 German planes carried out heavy bombing of London. The period, known as the "Blitz," left some parts of London in ruins. Decades later, a team of researchers used data to create a map that locates where each bomb was dropped during that period.

Handguns and assault rifles are completely banned in Britain, and a very small percentage of the country's police officers even carry guns, something that has led to a lower number of fatal police shootings.

A photo of three pioneering women doctors has been circulating in social media -- but they're not wearing white lab coats. They're wearing culturally significant dress and they represent the first women doctors from their countries, back in the 1800s.

The US government has been slow to respond to the health threat posed by the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock. But consumer concern about antibiotic resistance is growing, and that's leading some US companies to start changing their ways.